Of Mer and Men
by nubtubber
Summary: All Celegriath knows is his small isolated village full of Snow Elves. But when he gets thrown into the world he thought he knew, he discovers that the original home of the Falmer is in the middle of the civil war, contains strange new creatures, and is also dealing with the return of the Dragons. Can this young snow elf survive it all? Why don't you read and find out...


**A/N: Welp this is my first real story. I was kind of playing off of the ****_Of Mice and_**** Men**** book title incase you didn't get that, which I also do not own. Not really sure why... anyways, If you want to review that's cool. I enjoy constructive criticism as well. Yeah that's it. Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios. Except for some of the characters and this story line. Those were me. And seriously, isn't it obvious that I don't bloody own this. I mean the site is called 'fanfiction.' THAT IMPLIES THAT YOU ARE WORKING OFF OF OTHER PEOPLES CONTENT. Anyways enjoy. Or don't enjoy. But if you don't you should still read it so you can hate. Actually how about you just hit the back button and then ask your mom why you don't have the ability to read amazing content.**

Intro

Celegriath was a Snow Elf. A Falmer. The once proud and prosperous race that was forced into hiding or turned to abominations such as the twisted Betrayed that dwelled with in the Dwemer ruins. He did not know the full details of what happened during the Nord invasion, for he was not born until a while after. In fact he was born 4 Era's later. All he knows is seclusion. He doesn't know the dangers of the world, for Celegriath lives in a secluded village, far north of Skyrim. He is about to turn 200 years old, somewhere around 18 or 19 in the years of mankind. Celegriath begins to wonder what the other parts of the world hold, and if his race can ever be restored to its former glory…

Chapter 1

I was flying. Flying over all of Tamriel. Riding on the rays from the light of Auri-el. Finally I came upon Skyrim, my ancestor's home and where I should have been living. I sighed, seeing as most of the land was covered by clouds, as I never knew what it really looked like. I wanted to stay there, but something pulled me north. Far north. I came to the miserable little village where I currently lived and started to fall. Something was screaming my name as I fell. And then plop. There I was face down on the cold stone floor of my room. _'Must have fallen out of bed,'_ I thought to myself.

"Cel!"

I jolted up and fell back into my bed, staring wide-eyed at the source of the noise. Once I realized it was just Vanya, I just plopped back into my bed and covered my ears with the pillow.

"Go away," I groaned through animal skin and hay I was burying my face in.

Vanya, the only girl around my age in the village, stayed put despite my complaints, "Celegriath your going to make us both late! We promised Ingemon we would help with the stables, remember!"

"No, I remember you promising that…"

"Well I'm not going to do I alone so get up!" Vanya declared while stomping her foot.

"I have to get some rest before I go to the Ceremony!" I said. I was officially becoming a knight-paladin today, after 10 years of training. The ceremony didn't really require rest, but any excuse at this point was good enough for me.

Suddenly I felt two pairs of cold arms fold around my bare chest and I got thrown off the bed. Vanya stood over me with a smirk on her face. "Mm yeah 10 years of training really paid off. Now get off your lazy bum and meet me at the stables."

So eventually I got dressed, doing my best to brush down my white hair. I said goodbye to my parents, and opened the door. The freezing air hit me like a mammoth, which has sadly happened to me already. I look through the village. There are about 10 houses surrounding a large shrine of Auri-el. A ways off to my right were the stables, which I could see Vanya headed towards. The village was small, obviously, but busy enough

My dad had told me that this town has been here for a few millennia's and that some of the people were just as old as the town. Except for a newborn, Vanya and I were the youngest in the town. There were a lot of middle-aged mer. Almost all of the men in the village were warriors or guards. And if they weren't, they were either a blacksmith or stableman. The women all had jobs as well, like knitting cooking, hunting, or being a warrior as well. Everyone had a job here. Its how we have survived all this long. I took a good look at the town, and then made my way to the stables.

Ingemon greeted me there, "Well, look at that, he's alive!"

"Hello Ingemon," I grumbled.

He just smiled and called Vanya over, telling us that the two of us were going to take the horses out and run them around about. Then, bring them back inside, feed them; clean their stalls, and we were free to go.

So, Vanya sat on the horse as I led it to the Valley of Frozen Tears. Pleasant name, right? Well it turns out that another Falmer village was found there and burned to the ground by the Nords, along with all its residence. And then the ashes were covered in snow. How they found that village and not ours, I'll never know. But I thank Auriel they did. Well, I'm not happy another village got burned down, but I'm happy it wasn't us. I wasn't even born when it happened so what would I care. I mean I'm sad that-

"So do you ever think about it?" Vanya said, braking my train of thought.

"About what?" I asked, trudging through the snow, dragging Vanya and her horse along behind me.

"Leaving." I stopped.

"What?"

"You heard me."

I looked around as if someone might be listening to us. Once I was certain I continued pulling the reigns and walking forward. "Yes. All the time."

"Me too." She said quietly. We were quiet the rest of the hike. We trained the horse as we were told then tied to a tree by a river so it could drink. Vanya and I laid down next to each other in the snow. The snow wasn't nearly as cold for snow elves as it is for some others, but you probably could have guessed that.

"So why don't you leave?" She asked as she turned her head to look at me. I looked back. I always forgot she was different from most Falmer in the fact that she had golden eyes.

I gave a soft chuckle. "Because I can't. How could I? Where would I go? How would I know where to go? Maybe once I can answer all those questions I will. But for now, I'm stuck here."

"I guess. All I know is that you're about to be 200 and I'm not far behind. I don't want to be here all my life." Her voice became gentle. "We could leave together you know. Just you and me. We could go on an adventure together…"

"Again, I wish I could but you must see why I can't? I don't want to be here all my life here either, but I cant help but feel like I have a duty here! To protect the people I love! Don't think about your family? How do you think they would react if they figured out we ran away together?" I had unintentionally raised my voice, but I mean what I said. I had to protect my family, and everyone in the village. For all I knew, we were the last of all the snow elves. I had to keep us alive.

She rolled over close to me and gave me another intense stare. "But if I did leave, you would come with me? Maybe when the village doesn't need us?"

I hesitated. I couldn't help it. I know I was 200 years old and you can judge all you want, but this is the closest I have ever been to her face. "Of course," I said softly, looking her in the eyes. She looked like she was about to remove the space between our faces, but she got up, with a slight blush across her white cheeks.

"We better head back," she said while looking down and brushing her hair behind her pointed ear. "They might start to get worried."

It was a long, boring journey back, and I might have noticed something watching us from the shadows, if I hadn't been thinking so much about Vanya's lips.

** A/N: All right and that's the first chapter. Whoopty freaking doo. I know this chapter was a little slow, but hey gotta get that young character development in. Next chapter will be more exciting, promise. Well that's like an unsure promise. At least half of the next chapter... maybe more. Whatever bleh bleh blkefefhiaojfaWajefopwjegfol powfje. Anyways, that's all folks and stay tuned.**


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